In July 1997, the number of people aged 18-64 who had held a job in the three years to 30 June 1997 was estimated at 9,339,200. Of these, 685,400 (7.3%) had been retrenched (that is, either retrenched or made redundant) on one or more occasions in that period, according to results released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

Survey results reveal the following major differences between retrenched workers and other employees:

68% were male (compared to 56% of all employees);

higher proportions of retrenched workers were found in the 18-24 years and 55-64 years age groups, and a lower proportion in the 35-44 years age group;

56% did not have post-school qualifications (compared to 50% of all employees); and

38% had spent less than one year in the job from which they were retrenched (in February 1997, 21% of all employees had held their job for less than 12 months).

In relation to the jobs from which people were retrenched:

71% were permanent (slightly less than the proportion of all employee jobs);

84% were full-time (compared to 73% of all employee jobs);

the greatest numbers were in the Manufacturing, Retail trade and Construction industries; and

the majority were in occupations with low and medium skill levels.

For States and Territories the number of people who had been retrenched as a proportion of those who had held a job in the reference period was: New South Wales (5.9%), Victoria (7.9%), Queensland (8.6%), South Australia (9.0%), Western Australia (7.3%), Tasmania (8.0%), Northern Territory (4.2%) and the ACT (7.4%).

In July 1997, of the people who had been retrenched at any time in the three years to 30 June 1997:

55% were employed;

29% were unemployed; and

16% were not in the labour force.

Details can be found in Retrenchment and Redundancy, Australia, July 1997 (cat. no. 6266.0) available from ABS Bookshops. A summary of findings from the publication is available from this site.